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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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The sensation of consciousness rising to the surface. My eyes opened at the same time.
‘This is…’
I was outside the lake. I stood there with the other students. It seemed I had finally escaped the trial for real this time.
‘It must be real, right?’
The trial spaces these guys created were so realistic that they were practically indistinguishable from reality. Because of that, there was practically no way to confirm it.
However…
‘There’s no reason to deceive me anymore.’
The trial was over, and I had received the reward for the third trial from the God of Connections. That meant there was no longer any reason for him to play such pranks.
‘Then all that remains is to move forward.’
Just like after the previous two trials.
Even if there was a period of stagnation before the trial, completing it gave me the strength to move forward. However, this time, there was one last thing I had to do before moving on.
‘The graduation competition.’
It was the final touch to solidify my fake identity as ‘Seo Yoo Rang,’ and an event where I, along with my comrades, could acquire relics and increase our strength.
And the reason I actively participated in mock battles and raised my individual ranking during the first semester was because of this graduation competition.
Only a select few from the top ranks could participate in the graduation competition, and the higher the rank, the stronger the opponents you faced.
‘In that sense, Yuseora and Elsie’s current rankings are appropriate.’
If they maintained their ranks, they could face fairly strong opponents while avoiding the few overwhelmingly strong individuals at the very top.
But that didn’t mean Yuseora and Elsie couldn’t defeat those top-ranked individuals. Their performance in the third trial proved that.
They had subdued the 31st Demon Lord, who was said to be the strongest enemy in human history, in the third trial.
Of course, the 31st Demon Lord had only recovered about half of its strength, and we had the help of the overpowered, overloaded Awakening Pills.
Moreover, since it was an enemy that had already been subjugated once, my accurate knowledge of its weakness was also effective.
‘But that’s enough.’
Even before I took them as comrades, I knew about their potential through Seo Yoo Rang’s knowledge, but in this trial, I was able to confirm it with my own eyes.
The Awakening Pills we used there remained unused in reality. And more importantly, even without the Awakening Pills, there were still countless ways to draw out their potential.
‘Especially the Royal Sword.’
That was one of the reasons the Lodreim Kingdom operation, set to begin immediately after graduation, was important. ‘Princess Ercia’s’ specs could be divided into before and after obtaining the Royal Sword.
The Royal Sword was essential, considering the plans after the Lodreim Kingdom.
Even if Elsie and Yuseora had the potential to defeat the top-ranked students, the reason they weren’t doing so was for that very reason.
I had chosen to create a fake identity to minimize the Demon Lords’ vigilance.
Then I needed to control the amount of power I displayed to some extent.
‘Not being too active, but still obtaining the optimal relics.’
I had to plan thoroughly.
Especially for Yuseora. Since Elsie could obtain the Royal Sword if the Lodreim Kingdom operation was successful, there was no need for her to be greedy, but for Yuseora, the relic she obtained this time was crucial.
And I had already decided on that relic in my mind.
‘For that, I need to at least guide Yuseora towards a battle style suitable for being assigned that relic.’
Thinking that, I looked at Yuseora. We had already left the vicinity of the trial and arrived at the academy cafeteria.
Yuseora, who was eating, tilted her head, sensing my gaze.
“It’s nothing.”
“Oh, okay.”
Okay? I had felt it before, but for some reason, she never seemed to doubt anything I said.
The fact that she offered me the position of co-representative of the Crow Merchant Guild, even claiming she would use me, also meant she trusted me that much.
‘Come to think of it…’
Perhaps because the memories of the trial had disappeared like a dream, as the god had said, she didn’t say anything about participating in my trial, even though she was there.
But the phrase “disappeared like a dream” probably didn’t mean complete memory erasure.
Similarly, although most of my memories from the 100 playthroughs in the second trial had disappeared, I vaguely remembered the swordsmanship I learned from Libero.
Then it wouldn’t be a bad idea to check how much she remembered.
“Co-representative of the Crow Merchant Guild.”
Yuseora flinched. Her face slightly paled as she asked,
“Did I ever tell you that…?”
I nodded.
Lost in thought, Yuseora muttered,
“I definitely remember saying it… wasn’t it a dream? I’m sure it was a dream.”
She seemed to be mistaking the events of the trial for a literal dream.
“It makes sense, since my body is fine even after spamming Sky Splitter so much, and there were so many relics…”
“Hey, Yuseora.”
It was fine if she mistook it for a dream. I had shown her a rather embarrassing side of myself there, albeit briefly. But there was one thing I had to address.
“Are you really going to shout that in reality?”
“Huh? Shout what?”
“That… Sky…”
“Sky Splitter?”
Of course, I was the one who taught her that phrase. But it was just a joke; I didn’t know she would actually shout it. So please…
“You’re not really going to shout that, are you?”
“Can’t I?”
No.
“Well, if you shout it, you’ll unintentionally draw aggro…”
“Isn’t drawing aggro a given when using Sky Splitter?”
“That’s true, but…”
“And you said the most important thing in swordsmanship is conviction. Shouting this gives me a sense of conviction.”
It seemed pointless to try and persuade her. Well, since it was a term no one in this world knew, it would be fine.
As long as I could endure it.
Just then, Elsie, who had been eating, spoke up.
“That’s strange.”
There was a small amount of food on her plate today as well. But that probably wasn’t what she found strange.
“Sky Splitter… I’ve definitely heard that before. But I’m sure it was a dream.”
It seemed Elsie also thought the events of the trial were a dream.
To confirm, I said,
“Yes, it must have been a dream. You heard Yuseora muttering about the Crow Merchant Guild co-representative thing during the after-party, drunk.”
“Ugh…”
Yuseora’s face paled even further. I tried to console her,
“It’s okay. I’m prepared for that much. Just as I’m using you, you can also use me.”
At that moment, both of them tilted their heads simultaneously.
“Why are you both doing that?”
“No, we just thought you might be sick.”
“Are you really okay?”
I was perfectly fine. Mentally, I felt much more refreshed compared to before the third trial. Anyway, I continued without minding them,
“It’s strange to call it ‘using.’ We’re comrades. So let’s help each other in turn. Because no one can solve everything alone.”
That was one of the things I realized during the third trial. But since they had lost their memories of the trial, they would have also forgotten that I realized that.
Even though it was all thanks to them that I was able to realize it.
“Thank you. I was finally able to realize it thanks to you two. I won’t make the same mistake as I did during the mock battle again.”
Perhaps because of my sudden change in attitude before and after the mock battle, and the subsequent apology, they seemed bewildered.
“Thank you… no, wait, I didn’t really do anything?”
Yuseora looked genuinely confused.
Elsie, on the other hand, recovered quickly.
“Do anything? You have no idea how much trouble we’ve had because of this blockhead. I can’t believe he’s only realizing it now.”
“That’s certainly…”
“I have no idea what happened. Did I have some kind of dream? But anyway, it’s a relief that you finally realized it.”
I also thought it was a relief. If I had continued like that, we wouldn’t have been able to do anything.
“Yes, it’s a relief.” I smiled.
Elsie also smiled with satisfaction.
“It seems you’ve finally become honest in reality too.”
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‘Hmm?’
I felt a slight dizziness.
Lyudmila, the temporary archery professor, opened her eyes. The mock battle she had been watching was over.
It was a waiting area within the trial space, separate from the mock battle area. Only she, Freya, and a few other professors were there.
It wasn’t a particularly important class, so not many professors were observing.
‘Anyway…’
It felt like I had just had a dream.
‘What was it?’
Fragments of dreamlike memories flashed through her mind. She tried to gather those fading memories as much as possible.
The Demon Lord invasion. The resurrection of the 31st Demon Lord.
The sword strike that split the sky and the beam of light that soared to the heavens. And an unknown, gigantic Demon Lord, and the destruction of Hailen.
‘What the hell.’
If this was a dream, it was a completely absurd one. It was filled with nonsensical content. But for some reason, I remembered the starting point of the dream.
“Freya.”
“What is it?”
“Didn’t I ask you if you felt something?”
Freya answered with a puzzled expression,
“No, you didn’t. Did you have a dream or something?”
With that, Freya left the trial waiting area. Lyudmila, left alone, watched Seo Yoo Rang exiting the trial space.
‘Why?’
She didn’t know the reason. But she seemed to have clearly seen a blonde young man in that dreamlike memory.
It was probably… Allen Blake.
‘But why do they overlap?’
For some reason, the image of Allen Blake overlapped with Seo Yoo Rang. Perhaps that was why she had been so concerned about Seo Yoo Rang.
She didn’t know why, though.
‘Stay calm.’
Choosing a successor was a decision that required careful consideration.
Wilhelm possessed undeniable skill, enough that she would have chosen him as her successor without hesitation if he had enrolled last year.
So she had to avoid making a choice based on uncertain intuition as much as possible.
‘The graduation competition.’
Everything would become clear with the graduation competition. The two of them were currently ranked 1st and 2nd in the archery class. If things continued like this, she would definitely be able to witness their match during the graduation competition.
‘I’ll decide after seeing that.’
If Wilhelm won, she would choose him without hesitation. But what if Seo Yoo Rang won? To be honest, it seemed highly unlikely.
‘But if…’
She shook her head. She could think about it then.
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